Spelling it out
In his programme notes, manager Frank Lampard told fans: “I feel like an Evertonian and that wasn’t a throwaway remark”. So if the boss is now a true Blue he’ll understand the blunt single-word summary one supporter delivered to this correspondent after the final whistle. Sometimes football journalist pontificate over hundreds of words when delivering their assessment of events that unfolded on the pitch but this particular Goodison Park veteran – clearly long enough in the tooth to remember the glory days of the club’s title-winning years - was rather more succinct and to the point.
As this correspondent walked down the stairs of the Main Stand along the concourses between the Press Box and Media Room, on spotting the laptop computer I was carrying, he enquired: “Do you know how to spell s****?” Appointed on January 31, Lampard will have long since learned that passionate Evertonians do not tend to mince their words but after overcoming a hat-trick of defeats to opponents likely to finish above them this term, the Blues had bounced back with four points from their previous two fixtures and this seemed like a big opportunity lost.
Lampard also spoke of Evertonians’ knowledge and wit and his bond with them ensures that in many ways he’s the best-fitting manager that Farhad Moshiri has appointed but those qualities also ensure that they won’t accept substandard displays either. While painful, those defeats to Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United were met with a degree of pragmatism but while Leicester City are more gifted than their league position suggests, there were still no such excuses here.
VERDICT: Everton freeze under the lights as worrying summer question remains for Frank Lampard
PLAYER RATINGS: Everton player ratings as Alex Iwobi and Idrissa Gueye try but three stars bad
TALKING POINT: Frank Lampard squad message cannot hide nervous truth after Everton defeat
Dads and lads
James Tarkowski and Conor Coady have been a breath of fresh air for Everton this season and will continue to get far more right than they get wrong for the Blues but this was far from a vintage display from the centre-back pairing who have played a major role in tightening things up in defence for Lampard’s side. Coady can count himself unfortunate that his scuffed clearance in first half stoppage time resulted in the ball ending up in the back of Jordan Pickford’s net just moments later but it was the second occasion that he’d made such an uncharacteristic error.
It was something of a night for mistakes of that ilk – Tarkowski too survived a scare after giving away possession cheaply – and they weren’t alone in losing their footing with plenty of quick feet among Leicester City’s players keeping them on their toes. The maturity and professionalism that Tarkowski and Coady have shown since their summer moves to Goodison has seen them labelled as Everton’s ‘Dads’ within the dressing room but given their impeccable communication levels, playing in a position where talking is a key, it’s somewhat ironic that such disappointment has occurred on the FA’s National Silent Support Weekend for parents watching junior football across the country.
As well as consistency, the duo also offer great durability, hardly missing a Premier League game between them over the past five years – in contrast to some of Everton’s other options in that position – but when you’re always available like that, it will invariably also mean that there sometimes off days. The key is how you then bounce back from them.
Calvert-Lewin concern as injuries bite
Other than goalkeeper Jordan Pickford – England’s long-time number one and the most-capped Three Lions player in history while representing Everton – Lampard lost his biggest World Cup hopefuls to injury on a single night. Given his previous fitness issues that resulted in him now starting a game this season until the trip to Newcastle United on September 19, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is arguably least likely among them to be on the plane to Qatar but his latest scare could be the most-worrying for the Blues.
The 25-year-old – who picked up what Lampard described as a “freak injury” on the eve of the opening fixture against Chelsea, marked his Goodison Park return last time out with the kind of goal that Everton have been missing during his absence but he really should have made it two from as many home starts here, only for his shot to be saved by Danny Ward with the kind of chance that top centre-forwards should be gobbling up. It will be their number nine’s physical condition rather than sharpness that is of greatest concern though now for Evertonians as he goes for a scan on a hamstring ahead of their double-header at Bournemouth next week.
Summer signings, Idrissa Gueye and Amadou Onana will also be assessed but while the midfield pair, at opposing ends of their Premier League careers will both remain hopeful of making Senegal and Belgium’s World Cup squads respectively, their potential absences in the Blues engine room in which they have dominated for the past two months could be keenly felt during the brace of fixtures on the south coast.
READ NEXT:
Frank Lampard gives triple Everton injury update after Dominic Calvert-Lewin blow
Rate the Everton players in the 2-0 defeat to Leicester City
Frank Lampard makes honest Everton and Leicester comparison after home defeat
James Maddison gives brutal summary of game after Leicester 'mastered' Everton
- How iconic Goodison Park feature will be incorporated into new Everton stadium
